The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony. III. Dealing with Anger.

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The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony. III. Dealing with Anger.

Post by mikenz66 »

The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony
Bhikkhu Bodhi


See: here for background.


III. Dealing with Anger

Anger is one of the most pernicious mental defilements disruptive to social harmony. All communities, including Buddhist monasteries, have people who can still succumb to anger, resentment, and vindictiveness. Control of anger is, therefore, critical to communal harmony.

Where available, I have given links to previous discussion of these suttas.

1. The Slaying of Anger
Giving vent to anger can bring a certain degree of satisfaction. Anger has "a poisoned root and a honeyed tip."
SN 11.21
viewtopic.php?t=26566

2. Three Kinds of Persons
This text classifies people on the basis of their anger: those who nurture their anger are line a line etched in stone; those who quickly dispel their anger are like a line drawn in the ground; those who remain patient even when attacked are like a line drawn in water.
AN 3.132

3. Persons Like Vipers
Another simile for distinguishing people in relation to anger.
AN 4.110
The translation here does not mention vipers, only poisons:
http://awake.kiev.ua/dhamma/tipitaka/2S ... ggo-e.html
10. Asivisasuttaṃ - The poison in desires

4. The Grounds for Resentment
Bringing in the principle of causality to help understand the arising of anger. This sutta enumerates reactions to those who act for one's own harm; the harm of one's friends; the benefit of one's foes. In each case, in the past, present or future. The final of ten cases is irrational anger: "one who becomes angry without a reason."
AN 10.79
http://awake.kiev.ua/dhamma/tipitaka/2S ... ggo-e.html
9. Aaghātavatthusuttāṃ - Occasions of ill will

5. Dangers in Anger and Benefits in Practice
Removing anger requires recognition of the dangers of anger. Various drawbacks are enumerated in these suttas.
(1) Five Dangers
AN 5.215
http://awake.kiev.ua/dhamma/tipitaka/2S ... ggo-e.html
5. Paṭhama - akkhantisuttaṃ - First on Impatience
(2) Another Five Dangers
AN 5.216
http://awake.kiev.ua/dhamma/tipitaka/2S ... ggo-e.html
6. Ḍutiya - akkhantisuttaṃ - Second on Impatience
(3) Seven Dangers
AN 7.64
(4) Being Spurned by Others
AN 3.27 (Part (2))

6. Removing Anger
The Buddha teaches a variety of methods for removing anger.
(1) Ten Ways to Eliminate Resentment
These are the counterparts to the grounds for resentment enumerated above.
AN 10.80
https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN10_80.html
(2) The Buddha Teaches Five Ways
AN 5.161
viewtopic.php?t=9860
(3) Sariputta Teaches Five Ways
AN 5.162

7. Patience Under Provocation
A key virtue that underlies techniques for eliminating anger is patience (khanti).
(1) Being Patient when Criticized
MN 21 (Extract)
There are, monks, these five ways of speaking in which others when speaking to you might speak:

At a right time or at a wrong time; according to fact or not according to fact; gently or harshly; on what is connected with the goal or on what is not connected with the goal; with a mind of friendliness or full of hatred.
...
viewtopic.php?t=1016
(2) Non-Retaliation
MN 28 (Extract)
“So then, if others abuse, revile, scold, and harass a bhikkhu who has seen this element as it actually is, he understands thus: ‘This painful feeling born of ear-contact has arisen in me. That is dependent, not independent. Dependent on what? Dependent on contact.’ Then he sees that contact is impermanent, that feeling is impermanent, that perception is impermanent, that formations are impermanent, and that consciousness is impermanent. And his mind, having made an element its objective support, enters into that new objective support and acquires confidence, steadiness, and resolution.
...
(3) Patience Over Punishment
SN 11.4

8. Exemplars of Patience
These sutta give worth examples of the Buddha, and others, drawing on patience to prevail over their adversaries.
(1) The Buddha Rejects Abuse
SN 7.2
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .budd.html
viewtopic.php?t=23986
(2) Punna's Courageous Spirit
MN 145

(3) Sariputta's Lions' Roar
AN 9.11
http://dharmafarer.org/wordpress/wp-con ... -piya1.pdf
viewtopic.php?t=25633
(4) Sakka and the Anger-Eating Demon
SN 11.22
viewtopic.php?t=26668
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Re: The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony. III. Dealing with Anger.

Post by L.N. »

I like this one.
This good person is owner of his deeds, heir to his deeds, his deeds are the womb from which he is born, his deeds are his kin for whom he is responsible, his deeds are his refuge, he is heir to his deeds, be they good or bad.
Sire patitthitā Buddhā
Dhammo ca tava locane
Sangho patitthitō tuiham
uresabba gunākaro


愿众佛坐在我的头顶, 佛法在我的眼中, 僧伽,功德的根源, 端坐在我的肩上。
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Re: The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony. III. Dealing with Anger.

Post by mikenz66 »

Yes, that's a recurring theme. It is in AN 5.161 above, and in
AN 5.57 it is part of the five recollections that appear in many chanting books.

For example, see "Five Subjects for Frequent Recollection" in this book (page 55)
https://cdn.amaravati.org/wp-content/up ... -1-Web.pdf

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Re: The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony. III. Dealing with Anger.

Post by phil »

I wonder if we will find discourses that teach that while anger is intense, it is isolated and can subside quickly compared to greed/lust which are more prevalent and deep-rooted. (I read that somewhere, I think in the very good little booklet Roots of Good and Evil edited by Ven. Nyanaponika.)

I suspect there may be more readily applicable remedies for daling with anger and ill-will than there are for the other two akusala roots but that is just a hunch.
Kammalakkhano , bhikkhave, bālo, kammalakkhano pandito, apadānasobhanī paññāti
(The fool is characterized by his/her actions/the wise one is characterized by his/her actions/Wisdom shines forth in behaviour.)
(AN 3.2 Lakkhana Sutta)
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Re: The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony. III. Dealing with Anger.

Post by mikenz66 »

Good point Phil,

It certainly seems logical I don't recall such a sutta, but perhaps someone else can think of something relevant.

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Re: The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony. III. Dealing with Anger.

Post by Mkoll »

Perhaps you're thinking of something like AN 3.68?
“Monks, if you are asked by wanderers of other sects, ‘Friends, there are these three qualities. Which three? Passion, aversion, & delusion. These are the three qualities. Now what is the difference, what the distinction, what the distinguishing factor among these three qualities?’—when thus asked, how would you answer those wanderers of other sects?”

“For us, lord, the teachings have the Blessed One as their root, their guide, & their arbitrator. It would be good if the Blessed One himself would explicate the meaning of this statement. Having heard it from the Blessed One, the monks will remember it.”

“In that case, monks, listen & pay close attention. I will speak.”

“As you say, lord,” the monks responded.

The Blessed One said, “Monks, if you are asked by wanderers of other sects, ‘Friends, there are these three qualities. Which three? Passion, aversion, & delusion. These are the three qualities. Now what is the difference, what the distinction, what the distinguishing factor among these three qualities?’—when thus asked, you should answer those wanderers of other sects in this way, ‘Friends, passion carries little blame and is slow to fade. Aversion carries great blame and is quick to fade. Delusion carries great blame and is slow to fade.

“[Then if they ask,] ‘But what, friends, is the reason, what the cause, why unarisen passion arises, or arisen passion tends to growth & abundance?’ ‘The theme of the attractive,’ it should be said. ‘For one who attends inappropriately to the theme of the attractive, unarisen passion arises and arisen passion tends to growth & abundance…’

“[Then if they ask,] ‘But what, friends, is the reason, what the cause, why unarisen aversion arises, or arisen aversion tends to growth & abundance?’ ‘The theme of irritation,’ it should be said. ‘For one who attends inappropriately to the theme of irritation, unarisen aversion arises and arisen aversion tends to growth & abundance…’

“[Then if they ask,] ‘But what, friends, is the reason, what the cause, why unarisen delusion arises, or arisen delusion tends to growth & abundance?’ ‘Inappropriate attention,’ it should be said. ‘For one who attends inappropriately, unarisen delusion arises and arisen delusion tends to growth & abundance…’

“[Then if they ask,] ‘But what, friends, is the reason, what the cause, why unarisen passion does not arise, or arisen passion is abandoned?’ ‘The theme of the unattractive’ it should be said. ‘For one who attends appropriately to the theme of the unattractive, unarisen passion does not arise and arisen passion is abandoned…’

“[Then if they ask,] ‘But what, friends, is the reason, what the cause, why unarisen aversion does not arise, or arisen aversion is abandoned?’ ‘Good will as an awareness-release,’ it should be said. ‘For one who attends appropriately to good will as an awareness-release, unarisen aversion does not arise and arisen aversion is abandoned…’

“[Then if they ask,] ‘But what, friends, is the reason, what the cause, why unarisen delusion does not arise, or arisen delusion is abandoned?’ ‘Appropriate attention,’ it should be said. ‘For one who attends appropriately, unarisen delusion does not arise and arisen delusion is abandoned. This is the reason, this the cause, why unarisen delusion does not arise and arisen delusion is abandoned.’”
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
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Re: The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony. III. Dealing with Anger.

Post by mikenz66 »

:goodpost:

Brilliant. Thanks!

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Re: The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony. III. Dealing with Anger.

Post by phil »

Thanks mkoli

One I like that is similar to letters writtern in stone vs. letters written in sand and water is in Anguttara NIkaya, 3:25, one whose mind is like an open sore, "prone to anger and easily exasperated. Even if he is crivized slightly, he loses his temper and becomes irritated, hostile and stubborn; he displays irritation, hatred and bitterness.Just as a festering sore, if struck by a stick or a shard, will discharge even more matter, so too some person here is prone to anger."

Lest we confidently feel "that is not me" the next of three kind of persons is said to have a "mind like lightning" and clearly understands the 4NT. (The third person, the awakened one, has a mind like a diamond.)

It is a good reminder for me that even when there has been quite a long period of not flipping out and losing my temper violently (in words) the nature of the mind of undeveloped understanding is still that of a festering sore. Humility and care are called for.
Kammalakkhano , bhikkhave, bālo, kammalakkhano pandito, apadānasobhanī paññāti
(The fool is characterized by his/her actions/the wise one is characterized by his/her actions/Wisdom shines forth in behaviour.)
(AN 3.2 Lakkhana Sutta)
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Re: The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony. III. Dealing with Anger.

Post by mikenz66 »

Here is another sutta related to anger:
Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal.
https://suttacentral.net/en/dhp#1

I wonder if there are others we can add.

The suttas collected here by Bhikkhu Bodhi are mostly about how to tolerate anger in others or remove resentment in others. I wonder if there is advice on how to counsel those particularly prone to anger in order to help them reduce it? Perhaps that sort of advice is more likely to be found in the Vinaya than the Suttas?

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Re: The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony. III. Dealing with Anger.

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings Mike,

mikenz66 wrote: Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:54 am The suttas collected here by Bhikkhu Bodhi are mostly about how to tolerate anger in others or remove resentment in others. I wonder if there is advice on how to counsel those particularly prone to anger in order to help them reduce it?
If the angry person in question is a serious Buddhist intent on mental cultivation, it should be adequate to encourage them to restrain their anger, or to potentially direct them toward one of the many and bountiful similes and suttas on the topic of anger, as found in the Sutta Pitaka.

If the angry person is not a Buddhist however, or has no regard for personal development, then such guidance is likely to be ineffective. What I have found to be very effective in such situations, albeit not appreciated, is to point at the angry person and say "Triggered!". With that one single word, the chain of rumination which sustained their anger is abruptly short-circuited and they are compelled to reflect upon the cause of their anger, and to take the next steps towards becoming rational and decent once more. (As I said, such efforts are generally unappreciated, but then, the angry person's unrestrained expressions of anger are unappreciated too, so I feel the lack of appreciation is nicely balanced out)

Metta,
Paul. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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Re: The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony. III. Dealing with Anger.

Post by mikenz66 »

retrofuturist wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 12:13 am If the angry person in question is a serious Buddhist intent on mental cultivation, it should be adequate to encourage them to restrain their anger, or to potentially direct them toward one of the many and bountiful similes and suttas on the topic of anger, as found in the Sutta Pitaka.
Sure, it's Buddhists I was asking about. I was wondering if there were some interesting things in the Vinaya that elaborated on what was in the Suttas. The Vinaya is, after all, focused on training.

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Re: The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony. III. Dealing with Anger.

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings Mike,
mikenz66 wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 2:09 am Sure, it's Buddhists I was asking about. I was wondering if there were some interesting things in the Vinaya that elaborated on what was in the Suttas. The Vinaya is, after all, focused on training.
True. It would be interesting then to see, in the path of discipline laid down by the Buddha, to what extent monastics were expected to be accountable for their own mind-states, and the extent to which others were expected to coach and manage them on the foundations of the Dhammic path. I doubt it was his intention to mollycoddle, pacify or soothe those lacking in self-discipline and sense restraint, but we'll see what people come up with...

Metta,
Paul. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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Re: The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony. III. Dealing with Anger.

Post by mikenz66 »

Hi Paul,

Yes, it would be interesting to hear more about the training described in the Vinaya. I'm not sure why you bring up mollycoddling since I can't imagine anyone doing that. Or the idea that the trainees should just be told to be responsible for their mind states and left to it. That's certainly not how the Vinaya portrays it in the passages that I have seen:
12. The training rule on being difficult to correct
Origin story


At one time the Buddha was staying at Kosambī in Ghosita’s Monastery. At that time Venerable Channa was behaving improperly. The monks would tell him, “Don’t do that; it’s not allowable,” and he would reply, “Who are you to correct me? I should correct you! The Buddha is mine; the Teaching is mine. The Truth was realized by the young Master because of me. Just as a great wind lifts up grass, sticks, and fallen leaves all at once, just as a mountain stream lifts up the leaves of various water plants all at once, so too you–having various names, various families, various castes, various clans–having gone forth, have been lifted up together. So, who are you to correct me? I should correct you! The Buddha is mine; the Teaching is mine. The Truth was realized by the young Master because of me.”

The monks of few desires … complained and criticized him, “How can Venerable Channa make himself incorrigible when he’s legitimately corrected by the monks?”

They rebuked Venerable Channa in many ways and then informed the Master. … He said, “Is it true, Channa, that you make yourself incorrigible when you’re legitimately corrected by the monks?

“It’s true, Master.”

The Buddha rebuked him: “… Foolish man, how can you act in this way? This will not give rise to confidence in those without it … And, monks, this training rule should be recited thus:

Final ruling

‘If a monk is difficult to correct, and he makes himself incorrigible when he is legitimately corrected by the monks concerning the training rules that are recited, saying, “Venerables, don’t say anything to me, either positive or negative, and I won’t say anything to you, either positive or negative; please refrain from correcting me,” then the monks should correct him in this way: “Venerable, be easy to correct, not incorrigible. And please give legitimate correction to the monks, and the monks will do the same to you. For it’s in this way that the Master’s community has grown, that is, through mutual correction and mutual rehabilitation.” If that monk still continues as before, the monks should admonish him up to three times to make him stop. If he then stops, that is good. If not, he commits an offense entailing suspension.’”

https://suttacentral.net/en/pi-tv-bu-vb-ss12
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Re: The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony. III. Dealing with Anger.

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings Mike,

The potential for moddlycoddling etc. arises when Person A feels that they are in some way responsible or accountable for the thoughts and feelings of person B.

Let's take an example of two hypothetical monastics...

Person B chucks a massive tantrum. A real wobbler that any toddler would be proud of.

Person A sees Person B chuck a tantrum. Now what do they do?

There are non-interventionist responses like:

- Ignore the tantrum
- Walk away

Then there are interventionist responses like:

- Engage Person B in a heart-to-heart conversation... "What's upsetting you? Would you like to talk about it?" etc.
- Ruthlessly mock Person B's pathetic display and call them a disgrace to the robes
- Formal structured admonishment (of the kind you quote above)
- Pointing Person B back to the Dhamma (as I described above)

The interventionist approaches are, through one means or another, designed to positively amend the behaviour of Person B. What I'm pointing to here is, in the path of practice outlined by the Buddha...

- Does Person A have any obligation to be interventionist in this situation?

- Is the reason for Person A's intervention to improve Person B's current emotional state, and/or is it designed to improve their understanding of the Dhamma?

- Is Person A in any way ever potentially accountable for the actions of Person B? (For example, if Person A is the preceptor of Person B, is there any culpability on their part?)

Metta,
Paul. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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Re: The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony. III. Dealing with Anger.

Post by mikenz66 »

Hmm, I don't know what sort of organisation you work in, but clearly the Abbot, Preceptor or Manager of someone would have an obligation to intervene. In a well-functioning monastery or other organisation, workmates would intervene, as in the example from the Vinaya. In that case the other monastics tried to remedy the situation, but were unsuccessful, so the Buddha intervened.

I certainly have to intervene at times to sort out people I manage. I don't have the luxury of ignoring poor or unprofessional behaviour. If I didn't sort the situation out my boss would be asking me what the hell I was playing at.

So, yes, the behaviour of others can be one's responsibility, as in the Vinaya example.

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